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Eight Items Permanently in My Kit - Good "Fook"!
Of course not all of these good luck items are necessary to have with me when I go out to do some "happy snapping" or street photography. But, regardless of what type of system and format I plan to shoot with; when I head off for serious photography, I never leave home without these 8 items (easy now since they are kept permanently in my bag!).
1. Lens and pentaprism cleaning:
Read my article on lens cleaning: :Myths and Facts" and you will understand that the 3 most important items to have to hand (in a fresh re-sealable plastic bag, for obvious reasons) are:
- Lens blower;
- Lens brush;
- Microfibre cleaning cloth (deep / thick version).
2. Disaster recovery:
For film users, owning at least a mini-changing bag is just not-negotiable. So many of us own such items and most of them spend years hidden away at home in a closet! If in the rare event you have a film jam or break of some type; an MF film-back loading or advance problem - there is just no substitute for a changing bag.
And there is a bonus: it is also useful to keep the changing bag out of the way and still handy, by putting it in the bottom of the camera bag - very effective extra padding!
3. Rain protection:
While we cover the risks of getting caught in a downpour by keeping a light shower proof jacket and even a similar camera bag cover with us in the field; what about our camera and lens? The most useful product for covering the camera/lens as well as mopping up when we get caught in any sort of a shower is a large microfibre chamois. For a few bucks only a Vileda or similar tea-towel sized light microfibre cloth is a God-send. Its absorbency is huge and nothing is more gentle on any surface than microfibre.
Again it takes up no room in a camera bag and can act as extra padding at the bottom of the bag.
4. See the light:
For those who believe (reasonably enough) that the best time to shoot is around dawn and just before sunset, the isn't much light around to see what you're doing - from operating camera controls to rummaging about in the camera bag, we need to see the light.
The best device I ever bought was not a smart compact Maglite, but a clever LED and adjustable beam head-light. Fitted like a miner's light, only far far smaller; the battery operated device uses little energy due to the newer LED technology and both the head and the beam can be adjusted to give perfect coverage wherever you are looking.
And unlike a torch, you have both hands free to operate the camera and don't have to risk choking on your torch. Sure it's a bit more expensive, but a lifetime purchase.
5. Just in case:
Because Murphy's Law can come true at the most inconvenient time, having a large lens-wrap handy can be a life-saver - to protect a lens, camera body; filters or whatever. Sometimes quick lens changing makes it inconvenient to reposition items in a camera bag, whether it be filters or lenses, or whatever. Having a larger lens-wrap open on top of other gear in the bag or on the ground beside a tripod, can be perfect to catch quickly discarded items when the risk of a passing moment is too great to fuss about your equipment.
And kept in the side wall of your camera bag, it also adds padding protection to equipment when not in use. It's easy - they weigh nothing and really take up little space.
6. No one's memory is perfect:
These will be the cheapest things you'll ever have in your camera bag - about $1.00 each. But, they can potentially add the greatest value! A small notepad and a felt pen.
Making notes of special or not-so-special exposures, locations, film used, ISO settings adjusted - whatever the case may be, never try to commit these vital pieces of information to memory. So, having a notepad and pen handy can save a lot of grief later.
The felt pen is preferable because it may also be necessary to make notes on a film canister or some other hard surface. The times I have because the pen was at hand later became invaluable as I later struggled to recall push/pull ISO adjustments I'd made in the field.
So, among these six categories of activities that require 8 low cost accessories, we have seemingly innocuous items that can prevent disaster of proportions that exceed these accessories cost many many times over. And then the stress and grief we feel when things go unexpectedly wrong in the field can so easily be avoided is we are prepared for the worst - as they say: "expect the best and plan for the worst."
And the overall cost by my estimate of what these cost me is AU$80.00 - not much more than one B&W MC filter! And, moreover, you probably have 80% of these items somewhere at home anyway - a sunk cost already. The most expensive was the head-light at about $30.00, but a $10.00 cheapish torch can do the job anyway so that makes the essentials budget more like AU$60.00 before you salvage items among hidden treasures at home that you've already paid for! However you look at it - it's a small price to pay for convenience, peace of mind and protection!